Terror in India

By David Talbot

Large questions remain unanswered about who is responsible for last week's terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India.

Heritage Foundation expert Lisa Curtis suggests the terrorists may have had foreign connections: "By using names that relate to India, the terrorists clearly want to portray themselves as indigenous, but given the level of sophistication, planning, and organization of the attacks, especially Wednesday's assault on Mumbai, they almost certainly have external links and support."

Writing in the New York Post, Heritage Foundation expert Peter Brookes looks at possible motives for the attacks, including the likelihood that the terrorists sought to push the disputed Kashmir territory into Pakistani hands. India and Pakistan disputed the region since their independence in 1947.

If this was the motivation, Brookes argues, it "could be putting the kibosh on improving Indo-Pakistani relations under new Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari." If any link appears between Pakistan and the attacks, relations could cool.

There is one silver lining, Brookes concludes. The attacks could give America an opening for "greater counter-terror cooperation with both Islamabad and New Delhi – an idea both may be open to now. That step would make us all safer."